Hi Guy
Welcome to the list.
I used to run a Herald driven bloody hard and often wondered why the modern
hot hatches were to be found in the hedge so often. it seemed the herald
would out handle them. I should say it was an estate, known by many as the
shed, and therefore had the obligatory hard rear suspension, I had also
spent several hours on a four wheel alignment rig getting the geometry
absolutely spot on, the only thing that was not to the book was the front
camber angle which I set to around 1.5 degrees negative as radial tyres
prefer a bit of neg camber. That baby handled like it was on rails!!!! The
tyres by the way were 175/70x13 Kleber's on Dolomite steel rims for the
extra width, good rubber for my set-up. YMMV.
Advice, fit an estate spring and get the geometry right, you can adjust the
rear tracking using shims on the radius arms, make sure the rear axle is
true to the body and then set the front to the rear.
Have fun
Graham.
2500PI MKII
2000 MKI
Dolomite (Modified, Sprinted)
Toledo
1300FWD
Ps Damn I miss the Herald!
Pps Come to the Island for the 11th Isle of Wight TSSC camping weekend and
meet some modified's (probably!).
----- Original Message -----
From: Guy Humpage <guy_humpage@hotmail.com>
To: <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 4:09 PM
Subject: Sporting Potential of a Vitesse
>
> Hello there,
>
> This is my first post to the list, so bear with me.
>
> I'll start off by saying I'm located in Cambridgeshire, England, in
> case it makes a difference... :-)
>
> I'm considering purchasing a Triumph Vitesse with a view to entering
> progressively more adventurous motorsport activities, ie. start with
> a few classic roadrallies with the car in pretty much standard tune,
> then get onto a few sprints and hillclimbs once the car is reliable,
> gently modifying it as funds allow. The final dream would be to get
> the car onto a race track. All this would be spread out over perhaps
> 3-5 years...
>
> The choice of a Vitesse as my sporting steed is fairly random, I have
> no past experiences with the marque.
>
> The Pro's and Con's seem to be (this is where I need your help), on
> the plus side - plenty of Triumph specialists and part suppliers
> around, a good strong Triumph community (both virtual and 'real'),
> the Vitesse is perhaps 'unfashionable' therefore can be bought
> less expensively than perhaps a TR4 or 6.
> The downsides are: due to their lesser popularity there is less chance
> of finding a car which has been cherished (it's more likely some
> rich-guy has spent a fortune restoring a TR6 which he then sells on
> for peanuts when he is bored with it (like that happens!) :-) ). Also,
> what about the notorious rear suspension - how bad is it? From what
> research I've done the Mk2 models were better and I'm sure 30 years
> of aftermarket tweeking has solved what problems there were?
>
> I'm not unaware of the reliability issues with owning an old British
> car, as I used to run a Mini Cooper (I was tempted to go back to the
> Mini fold, but the temptation of a rorty six cylinder engine and
> rear-wheel drive is too much).
>
> I there anyone on the list who actual owns a modified Vitesse, who
> wouldn't mind me asking them a few stupid questions? :-)
>
> Answers on a postcard.
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
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